The three things we heard consistently from our visitors are:

Fallen Frontier’s approach to co-op gameplay works and is good, visceral fun.

The seamless camera splitting/merging was a big hit, as were the moment-to-moment gameplay dynamics you experience when playing with a friend. Speaking of our co-op camera, you confirmed we have a solid foundation in place, but we still have a ton of work to do to continue to tweak it and make it feel good in every situation. Watching you all play for 3 days non-stop, we learned a ton about how we can improve on what we already have.

Grappling hooks make everything better!

The three different ways to use the grappling hook – on the environment, on enemies and our your friends – make it stand out as a core gameplay mechanic that gamers raved about. From our perspective, it was incredible to see you pick it up and pull the exact moves we designed it for, and then some!! We were delighted that most attendees seemed to have at least one moment of pure awesomeness with it over the course of their time with the game.

The 2D art style works great and stands out.

We heard so many different flavors of this comment! We realized 2D could be polarizing – people love it or hate it – and it’s risky to do a true 2D game in 2011. At Moonshot, we fully embrace the idea of developing a 2D game and we believe in the visual style Mike has developed for our game and universe. Every time we heard you rave about different aspects of the art style, we felt like you were right there with us. We still have a lot of work ahead of us to make Fallen Frontier’s visuals really shine but we’re super excited about our 2D style and the reception it received at the show.

Throughout the event, we also got some invaluable feedback about what we can improve in our game. Some folks pointed out that character silhouettes aren’t as unique and differentiated as they could be – we’re going to work on that. Others were surprised by the blast radius and lethality of grenades – we’ll tweak that too. Tycho pointed out that melee didn’t feel quite right and expected a longer lunge to connect with enemies – he’s right and we’ll fix that. Watching hundreds of people play the game also sparked many ideas for possible tweaks and new features. Getting this kind of feedback from our audience is just one more reason why PAX proved to be the perfect venue to unveil Fallen Frontier.

To all of you who took time to stop by our booth, try the game and share your experience with us and your friends, thank you very much! We really appreciate it.

We also extend our thanks to the Penny Arcade crew for putting on such a great show and making it accessible to indies like Moonshot. Throughout the event, we were treated with respect by the organizers, despite being one of the smallest booths on the floor.

A big shout-out to our friends in the indie community, including many new friends we had the pleasure to meet at the show: Uber, Haunted Temple, Supergiant Games, FuelCell, Robot, Firehose, Demiurge, Trapdoor, Polytron and everyone else… you and your games rock!

Lastly, to the fine folks of the gaming media who stopped by, gave Fallen Frontier a spin and wrote, blogged, podcasted, tweeted, filmed their hands-on impressions, or otherwise helped us spread the word, thanks a ton. Here’s a summary of the awesome coverage coming out of the show:

1UP: Fallen Frontier is Every Game I Love in One
“…you’re looking at my happiest surprise of the show: Moonshot’s Fallen Frontier…”

1UP: Fallen Frontier Brings Halo’s Combat Into a Super Metroid Worldview
“The moody aesthetics, straight-from-Halo shooting design, and liberating grappling design make Frontier into one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve had from a game demo in quite some time.”

Kotaku: A Side-Scroller With The Tactical Smarts of Halo
“…I played a game that felt, in the best of ways, like a side-scrolling Halo. Mixed with Metroid and some Shadow Complex.”

Co-optimus: Fallen Frontier Hands-On Impressions
“…we got some extensive hands on time with the co-op platformer from Moonshot Games and walked away mightily impressed as well as a bit bummed we’d have to wait until 2012 to get our hands on the title.”

Wired Game|Life: 8 Most Intriguing Games of PAX East
“Take Bionic Commando, add some Metroidvania and maybe a dash of Contra, and you’ve got Fallen Frontier. Developed by several members of the team behind Halo, Fallen Frontier feels polished and sharp.”

G4TV: Fallen Frontier PAX East Preview
“With overheating weapons, the ability to grapple and pull enemies towards you and shotgun them as they flail through the air, and tons of platforming, Fallen Frontier looks like plenty of fun.”

IGN PAX East Indie Game Tour video feature
“Our editors can’t stop talking about this, which is why we stopped by…”

IndieGames.com: Hands-on with Fallen Frontier
“Speaking of the graphical presentation, I can’t help but point out that the game looks significantly more impressive in person on a big TV. The animation is fluid, almost flawlessly done – it’s one of those games that makes you feel like you’re watching an animated feature more than anything else.”

ShackNews: Fallen Frontier Preview
“Before playing it, I thought images and videos for Fallen Frontier looked good, but I didn’t really get how well crafted it was as a complete experience until I played it.”

XBLA Fans: PAX East: Hands-on Fallen Frontier
“Want a cooperative game that has a similar feel and style to Shadow Complex, but the gunplay of Halo? Well then you want to play Fallen Frontier. The game is currently in development at Moonshot Games, a new studio which houses some ex-Bungie developers, and already it’s looking impressive.”

The Escapist: Halo goes 2D (sort of) with Fallen Frontier

GameSpot video interview

IGN: Halo + Bionic Commando – the 3rd dimension = Fallen Frontier.

SideQuesting: PAX East Hands-On: Fallen Frontier

Extra Guy: PAX East 2011: Fallen Frontier hands-on
Extra Guy: PAX East 2011: Top 5 Games

Game Cravings: Fallen Frontier Brings Halo’s Combat in a Super Metroid Worldview

GameHounds: PAX East 2011: Fallen Frontier Hands-On

Mash Those Buttons: PAX East: Hands-on with Fallen Frontier

Otakubutgansta: Impressions of a Fallen Frontier

Shogun Gamer: Some Hands-On Time with Fallen Frontier [PAX East 2011]

SideQuesting: PAX East Hands-On: Fallen Frontier

VGrevolution: The Fallen Frontier Hands-On Preview

If you posted impressions of your time with Fallen Frontier and we missed you, please let us know!

Thanks again for the fantastic reception at PAX.

We’ll be mostly quiet for the next few months. We’re heads-down working on the game… Be well.

We released new gameplay footage this morning. It focuses on co-operative play. Check it out:

These are concepts I’ve done depicting various locations in the Fallen Frontier universe. Each piece here will also be available for you to grab at PAX in the form of a nice oversized postcard including additional information about our fiction.

The story of the game spans two different planets, Ampyx and Caeneus. Both are colonized worlds in the Alpha Centauri B star system. Where Ampyx is an idyllic, Earth-like water world, Caeneus is a harsh place of rain, frequent meteors, and corporate oppression.

To learn more, visit us at PAX East (booth 759) and pick up a postcard!

Meanwhile, let’s answer the three most frequently asked questions right away:

1. What’s the release date?
We are aiming for the first half of 2012, so still a good year out. Fallen Frontier is a big “small” game! We have a lot of work to do between now and releasing the game.

2. Does Fallen Frontier have a publisher?
Not yet.

3. What platforms is Fallen Frontier being developer for?
We’d love to release Fallen Frontier on Steam, XBLA, and PSN. That said, a final decision on platforms is usually made with a publishing partner. That’ll be the case for Fallen Frontier as well.

BAM! Mike, our artist, will have some sweet art to share with you tomorrow. Don’t miss it. Hit that RSS button right now. Better yet, follow us. Dare we even say like us?

Our story follows a jaded lawman from Earth, arriving at the frontier worlds of Alpha Centauri on a mission of vengeance. Events unfold as an engaging film noir style mystery, and the hero quickly comes to realize that in this brave new world, nothing is quite as it seems.

We’re thrilled to finally show you what we’ve been working on for the last year. Come say hi and play the game at PAX East in Boston, March 11-13. We’ll be in booth 759, between the guys from Haunted Temple Studios and Robot Entertainment. Whether attending or not, check out our announcement trailer above and let us know what you think!

The product of our labors will be playable on the show floor.  For those attending, be sure to stop by and check it out.  For everyone else, we’ll have videos posted on our site starting the first day of the show.

Between now and then, stay tuned for more information about what we’ll be unveiling.

Season’s greetings from your friends at Moonshot Games. No matter where you are this holiday season, remember to take time out to appreciate the view. May 2011 bring you a world of joy and prosperity.

— The Moonshot Crew